The Lily and the Oak
by RosaOOX
Summary: Now that the world knows about BPRD, everyone is on edge and will go to the point of hurting the "abnormal". Bree and a friend discover the corpses of Nuada and Nuala. When they are suddenly resurrected, Bree must help them to escape and survive.
1. Chapter 1

"Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity." – Sean O'Casey

"This place is absolutely gorgeous!" I exclaimed. I spread my arms out to bask in the rays of the sun and the breeze that rushed past me. The long tendrils of grass over the great big hill swayed in time with the wind, tickling my ankles. Gosh, Ireland was so beautiful!

"Ugh, there aren't any hotels or buildings here," complained Sophie, my traveling companion. Ironic that she was the one with full Irish blood pumping in her veins and she despised her own homeland, while I was an American mutt who was practically gulping in as much of Ireland as I could. Still, I knew in time that Sophie would warm up to this place. I only needed a little more time.

"Look, Sophie, how much grass there is here! There is absolutely no cement here whatsoever. This is nothing like America," I said as the two of us trekked up a hill.

"Yeah, I can't wait to go back to air conditioned buildings, cement roads, and music that doesn't involve people dancing without moving their arms," drawled Sophie. She complained, "Oh, this is too hard. Let's go back, Bree. My legs are tired."

"We have only been walking for thirty minutes."

"That's, like, half an hour!"

"Sophie!" I warned.

"Fine," Sophie whined. We continued our small hike up a grassy hill dotted with a few misshapen rocks. The place had a solemn air to it, so Sophie and I stayed quiet. The wind blew by mournfully, blowing down the green grass. As we reached the top, a large sign came into view.

"What does it say?" I asked Sophie. The words were in the native language. Only Sophie could translate for me, since the previous times I had tried asking the people here, they would have these incredibly thick accents that just confused me even more on where the heck I was.

"Mmm, it means, 'Warning: Do not enter any farther into this area. Danger zone. Area recently excavated. Failure to comply will lead to arrest and incarceration.' Jeez, what is up with that?" Sophie squinted her eyes and looked a little more. "Whoa."

"What?" I asked.

"The sign is from the BPRD! You know, that secret government group that keeps all these supernatural freaks?"

"Sophie, don't call them that. You don't know any of them personally, so why in the world would you come to such a conclusion?" I told her. Sophie shrugged. Ever since the discovery of this red person called Hellboy, people have been acting skittish around each other. The discovery of the BPRD led to the full coming out of all their members. Abe Sapien, Elizabeth Sherman, Johann Krauss, and Hellboy, were the most well known names.

Unfortunately, this has led to nothing but trouble. Now almost every person jumps at the sight of anyone in society who is considered "abnormal". For example, just last week, a fifteen year old boy was beaten in an alley, simply because he had piercings all over his face. Heck, I was getting the same treatment. I was forced to move out of my apartment and room with Sophie, because my once sweet grandmotherly neighbor suddenly turned on me with a knife and threatened to eradicate another "demon child".

Luckily, the news must have reached Ireland slowly. Everyone here was kind and helpful, except for a handful that were just by nature mean. I was able to relax and be myself. I didn't even have to dye my pink hair back to brown.

Still, Sophie and I were here for only a few more days. After our vacation, we would go back to America. Neither of us were looking forward to it.

"Great, just great. I guess we will have to go back to the old trail. Are you up for that?" I asked Sophie. With a great sigh, she nodded and turned around.

"Next time, Breeanna," Sophie started, "we go to-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the earth underneath Sophie's feet opened up. Sophie sank like a rock into the large hole, screaming all the way down. I launched myself at the hole, my hand stretched out for Sophie. Her screams echoed down until I heard a large splash of water.

"SOPHIE! SOPHIE!" I yelled. Not realizing the risk I was putting myself in, I placed my feet over the hole's edge, then pushed myself in. I screamed as well, feeling nothing but cold air and seeing gray rock walls. My arms and legs flailed wildly like spaghetti as I descended deeper and deeper. Finally, just as I thought I was about to pass out, my body made impact with cold water.

Bubbles flew around my face. My pink hair washed around me like a bright halo. For a second, I saw Sophie's light blond hair wrap around my fingertips before the water drove it away. The air in my lungs was forced out from my drop into the water, so with as much as strength that I could muster, I kicked my legs and swam towards the surface.

My head soon broke the surface of the freezing cold river I was in. A few feet away from me was Sophie, awake and crying for help. We swam towards each other and clasped our hands together.

"Bree! I don't know what happened! The ground was there, and then I was falling-"

"Find something to pull up on! We can't stay in this water for too long!" I yelled over the water that was clogging my hearing. Sophie and I paddled together towards a small boulder dry enough for us to climb on and reach a strip of dry land. We lay together on the dry ground, gasping and coughing out river water.

"Holy cow. We're alive," Sophie said. Her blond hair was plastered to her heart shaped face and pulled out of its two neat buns. Her clothes as well as mine were soaked thoroughly. The both of us were not feeling excited for having just narrowly escaped death.

"You're dang right we are alive. The BPRD should have given us a bigger sign that said, 'Warning: Huge holes are imminent. Thank you for understanding.' I hate Ireland," I growled.

"What happened to the beautiful grass and loving rays of the sun?" Sophie joked. I laughed along with her as we got back wobbily to our feet.

"At least in America there isn't humongous holes in the ground that drop into a freezing cold river," I remarked. "Are you okay, Sophie? Any broken bones?"

"Just a lot of cuts and bruises," Sophie answered, wincing afterwards. "What do we do? We cannot stay here."

"Um, then I guess we follow the end of this river, find a way out from there," I suggested to my friend. Sophie nodded and adjusted her backpack. She pointed the way, and together we walked beside the river, clambering over rocks, eagerly skipping over small puddles, and helping each other cross over small rocks that led us to the other side.

It went like this for an hour. Sophie and I were both scared. We never did anything like this. The closest thing we ever did that was this dangerous was watching the Grudge – we stayed up late in the same bed with all the lights on. Scaredy cats.

"Bree, look. There's something above the river," Sophie said to me all of a sudden.

"What is that? Is that a bridge?" I guessed. Sophie and I came closer, and my guess was right. It was an old wooden bridge that arched up in the middle. Hanging off on the little rails were these red tassels. On one side of the bridge was this large decorative banner. On it was this strange symbol; a tree with its branches spreading out.

"Somebody lives here!" I exclaimed. "Come on, Sophie! Let's hurry up!"

"Are you sure?" Sophie asked, looking worried. "I mean, who would live here of all places?"

"True," I agreed. "Still, it is worth a try."

We carefully placed out feet onto the bridge and stepped forward. The wood underneath creaked, but that was all. Sophie and I rushed across the bridge and reached the other side in seconds. We chuckled at each other like idiots and continued our way down the river.

The river suddenly ended. Sophie and I looked at each other, confused. The river just dropped into a golden wheel barrow and disappeared. The golden wheel barrow spinned continuously, causing other small gears of gold to turn, twirl, and circle simultaneously.

"These look like pieces of a clock," Sophie said.

"There are stairs on the side, Sophie. Should we go up there?" I suggested. Sophie bit her lower lip, thinking it over for a few moments. She responded afterwards by hopping on the first stair step and then stepping up over and over the rest of the way up. I followed after her, my banged up knees protesting earnestly.

Sophie reached the top first. She let out a loud shout, and I flew over the rest of the steps. I grabbed her arm and pulled her to my side.

"What's wrong, Sophie? Are you okay?" I said, looking her up and down. Sophie whirled me around, yelling, "Look, Bree!"

I blinked in shock at the sight before me. It seemed to be an open army room, golden gears grinding and gnashing together. To my left was this turning group of gears that were dead still. The floor was pristine and seemed to be made out of tile, except for the crushed mass sitting in the middle of the room.

"Sophie, what is that?"

"I don't know. You go check. It looks creepy," Sophie told me with a shiver. "I'll go up to the top. There seems to be something there too. Maybe I can find an exit."

"That's a good idea." Sophie left me and zipped towards the clock-like stairs. I carefully scooched myself over to the crumbles of rock at the center. Slowly, I bent my battered knees to the floor and carefully picked up a piece of rock.

At first, it looked like nothing; simply rock with unrevealing features. Then, I squinted my eyes and began to see two closed eyes. Afterwards, a long nose. Finally, a mouth, ears, and hair! I looked around to see the other pieces of rock, and could see shattered remains of arms, legs, fingers, toes, and a torso. There was a strange weapon splintered and broken in half.

"Sophie, Sophie!" I called out. "Come here! I found something! Or someone!"

"No, you come here!" Sophie yelled. "I found this rock statue of some girl!"

"What? I found a body too. Well, a body in pieces, but still."

"Who made these statues, Bree?" Sophie asked, looking down at me from above, poking at the girl statue's face. I lifted up the head of the broken body of rock before me and looked at it again. The face looked sad, sorrowful. It seemed as if the statue before me was once a real person, who could feel joy, suffering, life, and death.

What had happened here? Who in the world would create this strange room underground? Who would make these two statues? And why was one of them destroyed. I wanted to know. Sophie wanted to know.

"I wish we could know what happened here," I said.

" . . . I want to know too," Sophie said.

Our questions were soon answered.

The rocks clattered ominously then. One piece, a hand, suddenly flew across my face and connected with a split wrist, which quickly attached itself to a lower arm. With a yelp I scooted back, watching as pieces of the broken body connected and rejoined together. A foot jabbed me on the thigh and broke, but soon reconnected itself together and joined an ankle and knee.

"Sophie?" I yelled.

The repairing of the body continued, until the head that was still in my hands flew out of them and glued itself back onto the neck. Sophie screamed something along the lines of "WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME IS GOING ON? OH MY GOSH IT'S A BODY!"

"Sophie! Stop yelling!" I snapped.

"I _so_ should have videotaped that with my cell phone," Sophie chattered on. "We could have fired it up on Youtube and gotten, like, a ton of hits!"

"Oh, gosh," I muttered, not believing what my friend was saying.

After getting over what just happened, I stood up and circled the rock statue. Sophie got up from her sitting position and stared at the newly reformed statue. I brushed my fingers over the rock shoulder. Crumbs of rock crumpled away and fell to the ground.

The statue was in a kneeling position, mid way of falling face flat. The hands were palm forward and slightly spread apart from the sides. The head was tipped up, the hair brushed back. It looked as if the statue had just faced its final moments, seemingly grasping for their last moments of life.

I looked closer and realized that the statue was actually a man. He seemed human, except that he wore clothes nowhere near of modern times, or any others. He seemed suited up for war, and I realized that the once broken weapon I remembered from before was in fact a real spear now lying at the statue's right side.

"Don't touch it!" Sophie warned when I was about to pick up the spear.

"Relax, Sophie. I am not going to run around with it and poke my eye out," I told her. I then picked up the weapon, twirling it once, before a pale hand pulled out of nowhere and grabbed my wrist. I almost screamed to death from that. Only because I saw the pale hand coming from the statue did I hold my scream long enough to see the statue of the man come to life.

The hand still held me in a tight grip. Slowly, the rock crumbled away, and an arm of flesh came to. More of the rock crumpled away, revealing a shoulder, neck, and chin. Sophie was now going bonkers; talking about statues coming to life, when the statue's other side came to life. The rest of the lower body crumbled away and brought forth legs and feet covered in rich clothing. Finally, the head shook itself vigorously, and I finally could clearly see the white face of a man.

The person inhaled, and life breathed into him. I heard a loud thud, and I looked up to see that the statue up top that Sophie discovered had fallen back on the ground hard. Sophie went towards the now living girl and tried to shake her awake. I went back to the man in front of me, and saw him open his bright gold eyes before his head slumped forward and the rest of his body fell to the floor.

"Oh, shoot," I squeaked. I picked up the poor guy and rolled him over to his back.

"Bree, this girl is breathing. She's been inured though," Sophie called out.

"All right, just use what you learned from medical school," I said. Sophie, who studying to be a doctor back home, understood and began to use her training on the young girl. I placed two of my fingers against the man's neck, immediately finding a strong pulse.

"Hey, are you awake? Hello? Are you all right?" I said loudly. The man did not respond. He breathed in and out raspily. It was a bad idea to just leave him there, so I shoved the spear between my belt and pants, then pulled the man on top of me and stood up. The best way to get us all out was by dragging them.

"Oh, crud, this guy is heavy," I groaned as I started to walk with his arms wrapped around my neck, his feet trailing behind. "Sophie, are there any exits at all here?"

"There might be one behind me," Sophie answered, "but we should try to use our phones to call for help."

"No, I tried that along the way here. Our phones are totally ruined from the river. We . . . We will just have to carry them out here by ourselves. Can you leave the girl long enough to look if that is an exit behind you?" I said, stumbling over to the clock steps. Everything in this area was still, not moving like the rest of the gears of gold.

"Her wound is healing remarkably fast. I'll be right back," Sophie replied, and she left through the door behind her to take a look. She came out seconds later, a big smile over her face.

"I smell the grass and hear sheep! Hurry, Bree. I will take the girl with me," Sophie said, and without another word, she picked up the girl by the armpits and proceeded with carrying her limp form away. The girl's long light hair covered her face as Sophie took her away. When I could not see Sophie or the girl anymore, I stared remorsefully at the steps I had to take.

The man was becoming heavier with each second, so I decided to get it over with before it became impossible. It was not easy, let me tell you. The man was not a light load to carry for starters, and I had a pointy weapon digging into my side each time I took a step up. Still, I was able to get up to the top, heaving the poor guy with what little strength I had left.

I lost grip of my hands for a second, and the man slipped off from my back. He collapsed to the floor, his forehead smashing onto the floor pretty hard. The noise sounded like, "SMACK!" Oh, shoot.

"Oh, come on!" I muttered under my breath, stomping my tired feet. As I picked the guy up from underneath his armpits I grumbled angrily to myself in a high pitched voice, "Let's go to Ireland, Breeanna. No one is going to bother us there. Ooh, we fell into a hole in the middle of nowhere. Ah, what are we going to do? I know, let's carry a bunch of statues that came to life and carry them off! Oh, and then we can go back to our phone companies and explain to them that we need new phones because they fell in the river with us!"

As I dragged the unconscious man with me to the exit, smelling grass and hearing the monotone bleating of sheep, I exclaimed, "I hate Ireland!"

While my "friend" was enjoying being carried off by me, I wondered what Sophie and I were going to do. We didn't have a lot of money on us, and we only had a few more days until we had to return to America. We couldn't afford to get the two help from a hospital, nor would we be able to take them home with us. Our chances of being Good Samaritans were running slim.

The exit was not as difficult, thank goodness. I only needed to carry the limp person with me for a few more minutes in a torch lit hallway. Sunlight hit my face, and I soon walked out of the hallway with the unconscious man in tow. Sophie was a few feet ahead, placing the still girl on a flat piece of rock that jutted out of a field of grazing ground for sheep.

I joined Sophie and threw my heavy luggage next to the girl. I then crawled up on the large rock, hoping to just curl up like an exterminated cockroach and lay there for the next year. Sophie, however, nudged my shoulder and forced me to sit up.

"This is unbelievable," Sophie exclaimed to me. "This sort of stuff is not supposed to happen, Bree. Statues coming to life, an underground room. This defies all logic."

"Life defies all logic, Sophie," I told her. "Now what are we going to do? Great, we saved a bunch of stone heads. How are we going to be able to return to our hotel? Actually, how will we get past the lobby without people noticing that we are dragging two knocked out people?"

"I don't know," Sophie confessed, "but we can't leave them out here. The girl needs medical attention. The guy you carried might need it too. . . . We're going to have to carry them all the way back, Bree."

"That's great, just great! I cannot wait to tell everyone back home what happened on my trip to Ireland. Not only did I eat fine Irish delicacies, meet and greet the people, and go walking on lovely Irish land, I also got to carry with me a guy for five miles!"

"Bree, stop it! They need our help. Besides, if we are lucky, we can hitch a ride back. Our original trail had tons of people coming and going," Sophie explained. I rolled my eyes, still not liking this.

"Fine! But next time, do not fall into a hole!" I snapped. I took the guy with me and began my long trek back home with him. Sophie hefted the girl onto her back and walked after me. The fluffy sheep scattered and bleated at us goodbye as we worked our way out of their field.

It was official.

My life totally sucked.

Sophie's too, but still.


	2. Chapter 2

It is easy to be pleasant when life flows by like a song, but the man worth while is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong. For the test of the heart is trouble, and it always comes with years, and the smile that is worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through the tears. – Irish saying

Sophie and I tried to make the best of the situation we were in. Yes, we were carrying two unconscious people. Yes, we were still soaked thoroughly from the river we fell into. Yes, it was not fun to help the two stone people when the best option was walking five miles and hoping that someone will let us hitch a ride.

Still, at least we were doing a good deed.

"My back hurts," I complained.

"Have faith," Sophie replied. "We'll get to our hotel in good time."

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry," I said.

Sophie and I were both devout Christians. Sophie was a cradle Catholic, while I was a convert to her faith. She was actually the one that convinced me to become a Roman Catholic, back when we were teenagers. I had a bad experience with a pastor from the church my family attended, so I had a difficult time bowing down to any rules coming from any religious denomination. It was Sophie, through her carefree personality and love for God in the midst of great suffering, that I changed my ways.

It took me a couple of years to clean up my mouth of "elaborate" vocabulary though.

"At least we are getting our exercise," I joked, making Sophie laugh.

"And we still get to see nature at its best," Sophie put in.

"Oh, yes. Sheep, grass, and more sheep."

"As well as freezing cold rivers," Sophie quipped.

"Hey, who fell into the hole? Not me," I teased.

"Whatever!" Sophie exclaimed, her cheeks blushing.

We continued down our way back to our original trail, silently praying for some help to be sent. Stone Boy and Stone Girl were still in Dreamland. Stone Boy's weapon was picking on my last nerve; it continued to dig into my side, and may have even cut my leg. It put a damper on my day, but a small cut would be worth it if Sophie and I succeeded in getting help for Stone Boy and Stone Girl.

Finally, someone up there convinced the Good Father to send help. A small tour bus drove on the road Sophie and I were on. The tour bus stopped right next to us and opened its doors. The driver looked out from the window, raising his eyebrows at us. We quickly got inside before he changed his mind.

"Jeez, after we repeatedly told these two to tone it down from all that partying," Sophie said aloud. She dumped the girl onto the first available seat. The driver went "Aah" and stopped and questions he was about to tell.

"Partying?" I hissed at Sophie, afterwards dropping Stone Boy next to Stone Girl. His head lay on top of the girl's shoulder. I looked around the bus, and let out a sigh of relief when there was no one on board with us. The bus driver then restarted his engine and drove towards the direction of where our hotel would be.

Sophie and I sat right behind our two unconscious mates and stared at them. The driver gave us funny looks but continued to say nothing. I decided to poke Stone Boy's face, which gave me a slap on the hand from Sophie. The Stone folk peacefully slept throughout the entire ride, oblivious to two leering pairs of eyes watching them from behind.

When we finally reached our hotel – which came from a lot of pleading from our driver – we picked up the two living statues and carried them out. Sophie and I had started our hiking in the late afternoon, so it was early night now. Our clothes had dried over time, so that was one thing less to worry about when we entered the hotel.

A huge party was happening at the block down. Almost no one was around the hotel. Sophie and I thanked the driver for his kindness and departed from his bus. Once he left, Sophie and I hefted our extra luggage and dragged ourselves inside.

The hotel was small and smelled a little stuffy, but it was cheap and had decent customer service. Sophie and I stopped at the very front of the manager's desk. The manager, a clean cut young man with a red tie was busily chattering to someone over the phone.

"How can the air conditioner be broken? No, it was repaired yesterday. Sir, please don't raise your voice . . . All right, fine. I'll go up and take a look myself," the manager spoke. He slammed the phone down and muttered under his heavy Irish accent. He then walked out the back door and left.

"Oh, God is really working on our side," Sophie told me excitedly.

"Let's hurry, or he will come back," I whispered. No one ever stayed in the lobby unless to complain, so together my friend and I scurried across the spacious room and raced for the stairs, since the elevator was still undergoing some malfunctions.

The trek up was not fun. Our bodies were worn out from the events of the day, and our two new companions were not helping. At one point Sophie and I took a ten minute break to catch our breaths. Stone Boy and Girl were sprawled over the staircase at the time.

"I hate Ireland," I spat out when we finally got to our room. I could hear Stone Boy softly snoring in my ear. Sophie fumbled with our card (at least that wasn't destroyed like our phones) and groaned under her breath. She finally got the card to slide, and she kicked open the door.

"Lay them on the beds," Sophie ordered. We placed the two on Sophie's bed, careful to make sure they were comfortable. When Stone Boy and Girl were nicely accommodated, Sophie and I collapsed on the floor.

"So tired," I whined through the carpet.

"Shower?" Sophie suggested. I groaned in agreement, and together we dragged ourselves to the bathroom. The hot water warmed our weary bones and soothed our cuts and bruises. Our energy returned from the shower, and Sophie and I were able to dress in comfortable clothes and check up on our new friends.

"The wound is gone," Sophie commented after examining the girl. Stone Boy was also fine and Sophie confirmed it. The two resumed their deep sleep, looking at peace.

"Do they still need to go to a hospital?" I asked, placing my hand on Stone Boy's forehead to see if he was fine temperature wise.

"I . . . I don't think so," Sophie stammered.

"They can't stay in those clothes. I'll shop for some clothes for the guy, and we can lend our things to the girl," I told Sophie.

"Don't buy too much," Sophie warned. "Just some clothes for three or four days, all right?"

"Got it," I called out as I grabbed my purse and left the room.

I returned with a bag of clothes a few hours later. I entered my room and dropped the bag of clothes at the floor. Sophie was lying on a chair at the corner, snoozing away. I heard a rustling of sheets and looked to my left. Stone Girl was sitting, hyperventilating and looking all over her surroundings.

"Hey, hey. It's okay." I came to her and sat beside her. "Breathe, sweetheart. My friend and I are here to help. Can you tell me your name?"

"Nu . . . Nu . . ." The girl kept gasping for air. I rubbed her back, saying comforting words. The girl finally calmed down, attempting to slow down her breathing. She then turned to look at me, showing me two large golden orbs for eyes.

"Wow," I stuttered out, "you have such pretty eyes. Do you want to tell me your name?"

"My . . . my name is Nuala," the girl answered.

"That's a nice name, Nuala. My name is Breeanna, and that girl over there is Sophie. We rescued you after the two of you, well, came to life," I explained to her.

"We came _back_ to life, Miss Breeanna. My brother and I had died together, and we were supposed to remain that way," Nuala interrupted frantically. "Do you know what you have just done?"

"Uh, no?"

"You unleashed my brother back into this world of humans, and now he will let nothing stand in his way of exterminating all humans."

"Oh, you mean the one that's still snoring right next to us and is starting to drool?" I guessed. Nuala opened her mouth in shock, her jaw hanging in the air for seconds. Then a laugh bubbled out from her, and she finally stopped panicking. Sophie stirred in her sleep but settled back down again when I shushed Nuala.

Nuala and I giggled together after that. Nuala still was pretty shaken up, but she was slowly adjusting. Nuala's brother twitched and turned to his side.

"Nuala, I bought you and your brother some clothes to change into. It's late now, so you should change into the pajamas I got you," I told you.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that!" Nuala protested.

"Sweetheart, Sophie just dragged you almost five miles to get you here," I lightly scolded at her. Nuala's face turned pale and I added, "We would have gone five miles more to get you and your brother help, Nuala. We don't leave people in need of help behind."

"I am ashamed," Nuala whispered. I furrowed my pink eyebrows, confused at her words. I placed my hands over hers and squeezed them reassuringly.

"Why do you say that, sweetheart? You didn't do anything wrong," I told her. Nuala did not answer, only removed her hands from underneath mine and smoothed out the front of her dress, especially on where there was a crack like hole underneath her chest.

"Come on; let's get you into your new clothes. That dress needs to be repaired. I'll have someone look at it later," I said to the golden eyed girl. Upon closer inspection, I saw that Nuala had a long scar across her porcelain face.

"Are these clothes modest?" Nuala asked timidly. I smiled and nodded. I brought the bag to her and pulled out the white blouse and ankle length brown skirt that was sold for thirty percent off. I took out Nuala's pajamas afterwards and pointed to the bathroom where she could bathe and dress.

"But my brother," Nuala started, fearfully staring at her unconscious relative.

"Don't worry about him, sweetheart. He's still going to be sleeping when you come back. Hurry, or I will wake him up," I teased. Nuala took it seriously though, because her golden eyes widened and she bolted towards the bathroom. I decided too that it was time for me to change into a comfortable T shirt and some short bottoms. Sophie woke up a few minutes afterward, and I convinced her to crawl into the unoccupied bed.

"The girl is okay?" Sophie yawned.

"Yes, and she is taking a shower right now. Her name is Nuala," I told my good friend. Sophie smacked her lips in appreciation, said, "Pretty name," and fell asleep. Just as Sophie laid her head on the pillow, Nuala came in wearing the blue night dress I bought for her.

"Will the clothes do for sleeping, Nuala?" I asked her, feeling sleep catching up to me.

"Yes, it is good. Thank you for going out of your way to help my brother and I. we cannot thank you enough for all you and your friend have done for us," Nuala replied. Her eyes drooped then, and she tried to suppress a yawn.

"Go to sleep. Rest on the bed your brother is on, I'm sure he won't mind. If he wakes up, tell him to go and shower and change into the clothes that are in the bag. Sophie and I will explain everything tomorrow, all right?" I said.

"I cannot believe that there are humans who go to such extent to help us. Thank you, Miss Breeanna," Nuada said. Then she gracefully dipped her head at me good night and carefully slipped under the bed covers. Her brother twitched and twisted onto his stomach. Grinning, I tip toed towards the lone chair in the chair, placed my knees under my chin, and slowly went to sleep.

The only thing that kept tugging at my mind was when Nuada called Sophie and I humans, as if she and her brother were another species entirely. But then again, that was probably just the river water talking. My eyes blinked shut one last time, and I fell into a dreamless dream.

I woke up when Nuala nudged my shoulder rapidly. I opened my eyes and groaned from my lack of sleep last night. Sleeping on a chair was not fun, let me tell you. Sophie and Nuala were awake, their faces panicked. Right behind them was Nuala's brother, about to awaken from his deep sleep.

"Bree, wake up! Nuada is going to wake up!" Sophie exclaimed.

"And?" I muttered. "Ow, my back cracked. Gosh, who knew that sleeping in a chair could give you Quasimodo Back?"

"Miss Breeanna, please help us," Nuala said, "because Nuada will not be happy to find himself in the company of two humans. Please, help us!"

"Why?" I yawned. "Ooh, there goes my spleen."

"Breeanna, my brother Nuada is a murderer."

"Sophie, grab the climbing rope from your rock climbing expedition! Nuala, help us tie him up! Let's go, go, go!" I ordered. I lumbered over to the sleeping Nuada and grabbed his hands. Sophie pulled out the rope from our trip to the Grand Canyon and deftly tied the guy up. Even Nuala joined in, hurriedly tying up her own brother.

"Um, place him in the chair," I squawked, and all of us dragged the semi asleep man into the lone chair. I grabbed more rope from Sophie's things and wrapped it tightly around the chair and him. By the time Nuada woke up, he was swaddled snugly in rope.

"What . . . ?" Nuada's first word was slurred and slow. He snapped to attention next and glared with such bright malice that I took a step back.

"Untie me this instant, you despicable example of man!" Nuada roared. He jostled in the chair and growled fiercely. Nuala stepped forward, and Nuada stopped himself abruptly.

"Nuala?" Nuada whispered. "You're alive?"

"Yes," replied Nuala with a smile.

"But-But the dagger! You killed yourself!" Nuada exclaimed.

"Pretty boy say what?" Sophie said.

"Brother, you must calm yourself," Nuala warned him. "We have been given the very rare chance to return to this world. Settle down, or else I will leave and go to such a far away place, that you will never find me."

"No! Sister, please do not run away. I cannot bear having you gone from my life again. I refuse to witness your death once more," Nuada said. He was on the verge of panic, straining himself so far that the chair was beginning to bend. Nuala, sweetly smiling, came forward and placed her hand against her brother's cheek.

"Then you must be respectful towards the ones who brought us back from the dead and rescued us," Nuala told him. "So in other words, behave."

Nuada then turned to look at Sophie and me. His eyes automatically narrowed in utter hatred. His jaw trembled as he pulled back, sighed, and with sheer will power, nodded to his sister. Nuala's smile widened and she hugged her brother.

"Ah, just to remind you, I'm the one that carried you," I pointed out to Nuada. Nuada immediately scowled at me.

"Sister, since I have given my assent," Nuada grumbled, "may you and your new acquaintances untie me?"

"Not yet," Sophie said. "Bree and I need to know what really is going on. Who are you two? Why do you look so different from the rest of us? How in the world did you two become statues, and then come back to life?"

"Sophie, Sophie, Sophie!" I cut in, ending her rant prematurely. "I am quite sure that Nuada and Nuala will answer all our questions, after we have had breakfast."

"But Bree-"

"Pancakes first, questions later. Come on, sweetheart. I know how to convince the cook downstairs in the kitchen to give us extra eggs," I said, and Nuala and Nuada's stomachs growled in agreement.

"First, let's untie Nuada," I said. Nuala and Bree both looked at me if I had just gone insane.

"Girls, if Nuada has given us his word, he will keep it," I told them.

"Albeit with great reluctance," Nuada muttered to himself.

I unwrapped the rope around him and the chair first. I glanced up at him, flinching when his golden eyes pierced at me with such hatred that I almost started trembling. Keeping my head down, I removed the rope from Nuada and put it back in Sophie's things. Nuala and Sophie cautiously undid the ropes from Nuada's wrists and ankles next.

Nuada stood up, still decked out in his royal clothing. He splayed his hands out, and demanded, "Where is my weapon?"

"Oh, I hid it," I replied, waving the question off with my hand.

"What! Return it to me now, human!" Nuada snapped.

"No. That is a dangerous weapon that no one should ever use, especially you. Now, who likes pancakes?" I said the last sentence in a sing-song voice.

"Brother, it would be best for you to change into the clothes Breeanna bought for you," Nuala suggested. "Look, she even gave me this lovely white blouse and long dress skirt and shoes."

"I see," Nuada said, momentarily surprised as his sister twirled around like a little girl.

"I guessed with your size, so if the clothes don't fit, I can return them," I told Nuada, handing him the brown paper bag that contained his new clothes. He snatched the paper bag with a disgusted frown and stalked into the bathroom. He slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it. Afterwards, Sophie, Nuala, and I heard these words right behind the bathroom door:

"Curse the race of man and their wretched females! They have not only corrupted my sister, but have forced me to submit to wearing their filthy clothing! Argh!"

Sophie and I cracked up laughing over the outburst. Nuala sighed and shook her head at her brother's choice of words. As Nuada dressed in the bathroom, I quickly changed into some comfortable jeans, a short sleeved blue shirt, and a blue hoodie.

Finally, Nuala convinced her brother to come out of the bathroom. Nuada stepped out of the bathroom slowly, his pale face clouded in deep anger. He wore a pair of dark jeans kept up by a brown belt. Instead of his royal vest, Nuada now wore a short sleeved black shirt. His feet were protected by a pair of cheap sneakers that I got for five bucks! I love me a good sale.

"These shoes are too large," Nuada barked at me. "You find correct measurements for everything but my feet? What are you, a simpleton?"

"Hey! I am not a simpleton!" I exclaimed. "I am . . . uh, simple. There is a difference."

"May we go eat now?" Nuala asked. "I am beginning to feel famished."

"You feel so, sister? Very well. Humans! Retrieve us food," Nuada ordered, crossing his arms.

"Excuse me?" Sophie put her hands on her hips. Sophie was a good Christian girl, but not when it came to being bossed around. The last person to have ordered her what to do had his wedding cake splashed against his face. Sophie lost the spot for maid of honor after that.

"Come along, Sophie. The pancakes await us," I quickly said, and I pushed Sophie out of the room.

"Can I come?" Nuala asked.

"Oh, no thank you, sweetheart. Why don't you stay back in the room and try to explain things to your brother? We'll be back soon," I answered, and once I yanked Sophie back towards the stairs, Nuala calmly closed the room.

"This reminds me so much of my cousin's wedding," Sophie growled as we descended the stairs.

"Yes, and that did not go well, did it? Let's just do this for them once. I am sure that Nuada will warm up to us soon," I told her. Sophie rolled her eyes, disagreeing with me.

As we reached the room where a breakfast buffet was being held, my mind went back to Nuala and Nuada. Who were they really? How in the world did they "come back to life"? And why was Nuada so against us humans? Weren't he and his sister humans too?

Unless they were aliens like in _E.T._?

Hmmm . . . Naah.


	3. Chapter 3

"Every man is afraid of something. That's how you know he's in love with you; when he is afraid of losing you."

The breakfast center gave out a variety of food for Sophie and me to bring back up to Nuada and Nuala. The hotel employees were a bit suspicious when they saw the two of us skinny girls creeping past them with four plates of food and a piece of bacon in my mouth. But they simply shrugged and concluded that it was a new thing Americans did. Even the hotel manager bid us a good morning and said that he hoped we would like the eggs.

"We're back," I called out once Sophie and I got back into our room. Nuada and Nuala were sitting at the edge of one of the beds, stopping an intense conversation short. As Nuala stood up to take two plates from me, Nuada glared maliciously and looked away from us. He only turned his head to accept the plate of food his sister offered him. Afterwards he made very sure to stare only at his food.

"Jeez, Nuada. If you don't like us that much, you are always welcome to leave," I suggested.

"And leave my sister with you two?" Nuada snapped back. "If I have to tolerate you foul beings in order to not lose Nuala, I shall. Now let me eat these pancakes in peace."

"I am sorry for my brother's behavior," Nuala apologized. "He still has a phobia of humans."

Nuada's head snapped up from that. Nuala grinned as Nuada scowled from her trick on getting him to look up from his food. Sophie and I grinned as well at Nuada. He was so easily provoked, especially by his sister. Still, I had a feeling it was wrong to do so to him. Nuada was still deeply affected by whatever things he had gone through.

"Oh! The egg broke," Nuala exclaimed, pointing her fork at the yellow liquid coming out from the center.

"Are you trying to poison her?" Nuada roared.

"Are you joking me?" I said.

"No, no, we aren't even thinking of such a thing! Nuala, look. The yellow stuff is part of the egg. It's supposed to break," Sophie explained. Nuala ate a piece of the egg, swallowing it whole. Nuada froze in place as Nuala stopped suddenly.

"It tastes delicious," Nuala said, and Sophie and I breathed sighs of relief.

"Nuala," Nuada started.

"I am fine, Nuada. Try the eggs. They aren't laced with any poison whatsoever."

"But, sister – Mmph!" Nuada's rant of concern over his sister was interrupted when Nuala stuck his fork of eggs into his mouth. Surprised, he swallowed it all and choked. I came over and patted his back, grabbing a cup of water and placing it to his mouth.

"Here. Take some water to bring it down," I said to Nuada. Nuada pushed the cup away angrily and shoved his plate of breakfast away.

"Do not tend to me like some pet," Nuada threatened me.

"I'm not doing that. I am trying to help," I replied, talking in a desperate tone. Ever since he woke up, Nuada did nothing but pull away and mock me. What was wrong with him? Shouldn't any person in their right mind be at least a little grateful over the fact that someone saved their lives?

"Nuada, please. Be kind to the one who saved you back in the chamber," Nuada reminded Nuada with a tone of warning. Nuada seemed to catch onto something, because then he quickly turned to me and said with great fervor, "I apologize for the trouble I am causing you. Please forgive me."

"Oh, well, you are forgiven," I answered, a little confused. I glanced at Nuala, and she busily tried to eat the rest of her breakfast. Seeing how tense the two were, I knew that something was going on between the two. Nuala was using whatever it was against Nuada, that much I could guess.

"In a few more days we will go back home," Sophie spoke up. "We don't have enough money to buy two more tickets, but we will try to find a way. Do either of you have connections?"

"Connections?" Nuala repeated.

"Nuala and I can stay here. We do not need your . . . help," Nuada gritted out, "although Nuala appreciates it."

"And you don't," I muttered to myself.

"We can't leave you here," Sophie said. She put her plate on the small cabinet in between and continued, "Bree and I promised to help you two. Until we see you settled down in a safe place, we aren't going to leave either one of you behind. You aren't from these parts, that much I know, so how do you think the people will react if you show your faces to the public?"

"Do either of you know what has been happening lately?" I asked the two pale siblings. Nuala shook her head while Nuada stubbornly crossed his arms. I sighed and brushed my fingers through my pink hair; this was going to be a long day.

"Ever since the BPRD was revealed to the public, everyday citizens have become afraid. Anyone considered abnormal is judged and persecuted. Some magical creatures and certain BPRD members are out, which only aggravates us even more. Violence in the streets has risen drastically – men beating up girls, women attacking men, both young and old hunting down anyone who isn't considered normal. Why, it's even gotten so bad that religion is being thrown in. Just a few months ago I was almost sent to a hospital because a small group of fanatical Christians tried to attack me. They thought that since I dyed my hair pink, I was worshipping the devil."

"That is awful!" Nuala exclaimed.

"Typical human behavior," Nuala stated with a roll of his eyes.

"No, it's fear. Fear can make even the strongest of men succumb to evil," Sophie interrupted.

"It's been worse for Sophie. A lot of people have been egging her to get rid of me," I put in.

"But I won't. She's my best friend. Actually, my only friend," Sophie said, putting on a baby frown.

"I scared the rest off," I laughed. Sophie and I laughed some more on our little joke. The two pale siblings didn't seem to get it, so I stopped and hurried to finish the story.

"What I mean to say is, Ireland, no matter how safe it is now, is going to change radically soon. The people will turn on you two, and if they are going to follow certain countries, they will send out people to kill you off. America is not the best place in the world for people like us, but it's one of the few countries that have new laws and bills that ensure the safety and rights of magical people," I explained.

"Are you magical?" Nuala asked.

"No, I am only human. I've just been dragged into all of this," I answered. Nuala frowned at that, so I added, "But suffering is a part of making people see how much worth there is in our lives. I have new friends – okay, only one – that I know I can count on, and I am trying now to look at things as positively as I can."

"How can you, when your own people hunt you down?" Nuada interrupted. "Why don't you just join them and dye your hair in a natural color?"

"I can't," I quietly replied.

"Why? Do you crave attention so much that you are willing to risk your own life for it? How typical of you humans. All you ever do is want, want, want." Nuada sneered at my hair.

A sudden feeling of awful hurt crept into my heart. Another feeling, one of hatred, slipped through the cracks too. Through Nuada's eyes I could see the obvious loathing of me. I couldn't take it anymore. Tears then pricked at my eyes and I got up from the floor.

"Sophie, I'm going out. I am going to find some smaller shoes for him." I rushed out before any of them could see me crying.

I walked out of the hotel, ignoring the manager asking if I was all right. I hurried towards the street, and using my good memory, I bee-lined towards the small area's stores.

Sophie Cooper

As Bree politely left the room, Nuala got up from the bed.

"I am so sorry, Miss Sophie. My brother-"

"Stop defending your brother. I had enough of his attitude."

Nuala zipped her mouth. Nuada came off of the bed and stepped towards me. He was taller than me, and seemed to loom over me. Nuada was scary with all the scars just plastered over his face, but no way was a little intimidation going to get in the way of me defending my friend.

"Do you know the color for breast cancer?" I asked Nuada.

"B-Brea – How dare you use such a bold word in the presence of us?" Nuada exclaimed.

"Oh, be quiet. Since you don't know, it's pink."

"Pink. That is quite a feminine color for such a disease," Nuala commented softly.

"Probably because most of the people who have breast cancer are women. Bree's mother was diagnosed with it five years ago. Bree had just turned eighteen. The doctors diagnosed her mother too late, and she died about a few months later," I confessed to both Nuada and Nuala.

It seemed that the two siblings took Bree's story to heart, because both expressed a look of such sadness and love when I finished. I concluded that they must have also lost their mother, because who else could know the loss of a parent? Nuada's eyes flickered with a shadow of regret for a moment before he recomposed himself back into an air of superiority.

"About three years ago, when Bree was twenty, she went to a hair salon and came back with her hair completely dyed in pink. Her family and I joked around and actually called her 'Cotton Candy'. As we kept teasing her, she told us that this was in memory of her mom, and that if we were insulting her new hair, we were insulting her."

I glanced at Nuada and said, "We stopped after that. It's a pity, really, Nuada, that you take such efforts to care for your sister, but you can't even respect the dead. Your sister was just a statue; you were only a mass of crumbled rocks. Why don't you use that thick head of yours and think before you say anything to people?"

Nuada refused to be moved. He scoffed to himself, and I really wanted to shake him and yell at his face. I told him a very tragic story, and all he does is scoff? When I had the chance, I would make him apologize to Bree.

"Now that you know what's up, all three of us need to work together on getting all of us out of here," I said.

"Why so soon?" Nuala said. "I understand that you and Miss Breeanna must go home, but why us as well? You have already done more than enough for us. Now that I have my brother under control . . ." Nuala and Nuada nodded at the same time, although Nuada did so with a shake in his shoulders. Nuala went on, ". . . We will look for a place to live in peace. Please, do not exert yourselves for us. You have saved our lives; we cannot be in debt to you anymore."

"That's too bad," I cut in, "because Bree and I are still going to help."

"Why must you insist on aiding us, human? We do not need you," Nuada retorted.

"Oh, yes you do," I insisted. "Remember what Bree told you two. The BPRD and magical races have been outed. We humans know everything; Hellboy, trolls, elves, demons, and the Golden Army."

The last two words sent a ripple of shock to the two siblings. They looked at me, unsure if what I really said was true.

"I know what you two are. You are elves, royalty in fact. You are Princess Nuala and Prince Nuada, heirs to the Bethmoora throne. You, Prince Nuada, attempted to raise the Golden Army and destroy all of man, while you, Princess Nuala, did nothing but go along with whoever could provide you with protection."

"That's not true!" Nuala protested.

"Luckily, Hellboy and his group stopped you Nuada before your reign of terror could even begin. Of course, you weren't comfortable with the fact that you lost to Hellboy, so you attempted to stab him in the back, literally. Only your sister prevented you from doing so, and that was by taking her life as well as yours," I finished. "To this day, Hellboy is considered to be a hero, while you, Nuala, are a martyr, and Nuada is the reason why all of us are going insane and attacking each other."

"You dare accuse me of all this madness?" Nuada blurted out.

"Yeah, Nuada, I do. It's because of you that almost the entire race of humans is lining up to get a gun license. It is your entire fault, Prince. Now that the two of you are back, if anyone finds out about either you or Nuala, they will kill you. They don't care if Nuala actually saved the day – they know your special bond and will willingly finish her off if it finishes you too," I barked out angrily.

"By the gods," Nuala gasped. "This is awful. Brother, why did you let your hatred of man take over you? Your hatred has now spread to humans! Your intention to do good to the world has only done bad."

"Sister, I never meant to put you into all this," Nuada started.

"Well, you did, brother. I was afraid to sacrifice myself, but I did it, and it stopped you in the end. Now that we are alive once more and one of the most wanted people in the world, my sacrifice was for nothing. I refuse to let myself die again. I gave up everything; my life, my people, Abraham!"

"Nuala-"

"Shush!" Nuala's soft face twisted angrily, and Nuada stopped speaking.

"Miss Sophie, I have listened to your words and have decided on what to do. Nuada and I will stay with you as you said. We will use whatever connections we have to get all four of us home, and afterwards my brother and I will do whatever is in our power to continue living our lives as much as we possibly can. Will that suffice?" Nuala said all this with a cool air of confidence. She was so sweet and innocent at first. Princess Nuala knew when to let her true colors show, as I now saw.

"And unless you wish for me to disappear forever, brother, you will go along with this plan," Nuala told her brother, her golden eyes narrowing. Nuada groaned but did not protest.

"Also, when Bree returns, you will apologize to her."

"What?"

"Or, your sister can go away and never return," I suggested.

"All right, fine!" Nuada snapped. "Ugh, the things I am doing now. How shameful of me."

"Only because you love me so much," Nuala put in with a grin.

"I'm glad that we are starting to get along," I said. "Now we must get you ready for tomorrow. We can't wait any longer. Bree will know of this once she comes back."

"Excuse me," Nuala interrupted, back to her sweet self, "but does Bree know about all of this?"

"No," I chuckled, "because she doesn't watch TV. At all."

"Are you serious?" Nuada said, his brows raised.

"None. Bree says that television brainwashes kids and adults into being stupid. The only thing she ever does watch is AFV and EWTN."

"What a strange human," the two twins remarked simultaneously.

I shrugged and smiled.

Bree was a strange person. For example, she could eat five bars of chocolate, get sick with a stomachache, and when the ordeal passed on, she would grab another bar. She freaked out over the news that Simon was no longer on _American Idol_, constantly nagged her family to go to Confession, and actually prayed for those religious fanatics who had tried to kill her back home.

"They aren't evil," Bree told me when I said that they were.

"What are they then? Delusional idiots?" I asked, furious that Bree had just been attacked and was already forgiving them.

"No, not that either. Those people, they are . . . confused. I know that they will realize their mistakes and change for the better. Besides, Sophie, didn't Christ forgive his murderers and say to his father in Heaven, 'Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing'? So why can I not forgive the ones who almost hurt me? They don't know any better."

"Bree, it's great that you are putting your faith in action, but this is going too far."

"I am not going past my limits, Sophie. I'm only doing what God expects me to do. If He didn't believe I would forgive those who hurt me, He would have found a way to make sure they didn't come near me. Sophie, stop worrying so much over me. You can't always take care of me. For now, I am safe. Now, let me have that chocolate bar!"

She said the last part to make me stop pushing on the subject, but our conversation stayed glued to my mind. Bree was not normal; who could forgive someone who tried to kill them? No one could do that, not even me. It was why I invited her to come with me to Ireland, so that maybe Bree could get away from the hectic city life and think more clearly on what she was doing, change her mind so she could see what a stupid idea it was to be so kind to those who tried to hurt her.

So far, it wasn't working.

Bree said that I inspired her to change her life. But did I inspire her to become the world's newest punching bag?


	4. Chapter 4

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life." -Isadora James

"Hey, guys, I'm back!" I called out as I opened the door to Sophie and my hotel room. Sophie turned around and changed her deep frown into a bright smile. Nuala got up from her bed and grinned at me. Nuada stayed back, arms crossed over one another, as always.

"May I?" Nuala asked, pointing to the bag in my hand.

"Oh, sure," I said, and handed it to her.

"You got new shoes for him, Bree?" Sophie asked. "You shouldn't have done that."

"No, it's totally fine, Sophie. These shoes came at a great sale. Forty percent off!" I proudly said to my friend. Nuala handed the bag of new shoes to her brother. Nuada reluctantly opened the bag and took out the shoe box.

"Brother, what do you say?" Nuala egged her brother.

". . . Thank you for doing this," Nuada grumbled out under his breath. It was not the thank you I had imagined, but it would do. At least he was becoming more polite. I just had to keep being kind to Nuada, and slowly he would be friendlier around Sophie and I.

"You're very welcome," I said back.

"Hmph!" Nuada replied. Okay, maybe being kind to him would turn out to be a long term goal. Lovely.

"All right then, everyone. Let's get packed. We are leaving tonight," Sophie announced.

"What? Sophie, you and I have only been here for a week! We have one more week to go," I protested. Nuala stood up from the bed and approached me calmly. Her kind eyes settled me down.

"We are very sorry that your plans are being cut short, but my brother and I must reach America for safety. The two of us – How do I say this? Nuada and I are in danger. Our past actions have caused many people to be wary of our kind," Nuala explained.

"Oh, you are magical?" I guessed. Nuala nodded to my question.

"Ah, I see now. Then we must get everything ready for your arrival to America," I said, forgetting the rest of my vacation with Sophie. "Sophie, your folks still have that apartment for rent in Puerto Rico, right? We can go there. Puerto Rico is American territory, and very few people there are panicking about the magical people coming out."

"I'll go call my parents right now," Sophie said, and she went outside the room to make a private call. Nuada rose from his seat and glowered down at me.

"First you complain of your vacation being cut short, and the next you are already planning a place for us to stay. How hypocritical of you," Nuada remarked, chuckling afterwards. A nerve of mine disintegrated at his words. I strode up to him, glaring so fiercely that I made the tall pale man smirk in amusement.

"Do you want to be hunted down by armed humans who earned their gun licenses just to hunt people like you down?" I snapped. "Do you want to be separated from your sister and be interrogated on questions of attaining immortality, ever lasting youth, and how to win the lottery? Or would you like to see your own sibling being torn to shreds for the 'good of science'?"

Nuada's smirk quickly disintegrated when I spoke. Nuala bit her lip in apprehension at the dark truth. Sophie chattered amicably outside of the room still.

"Look, Nuada, I do not know why you hate me. I really wish you would be more accepting of me, or at least give me a chance. I am willingly giving up my vacation time so that I can get you two to safety. Puerto Rico is small, unnoticeable, and a rare place for magical people in disguise to live in peace," I went on, poking my finger at his chest. "So, if you wish to die by the hands of a bunch of angry Irish people, be my guest."

"Hey, everyone! My parents said that we could take the apartment for a whole month," Sophie announced. She stopped behind me and asked, "Everything all right, Bree?"

"Oh, yeah," I laughed, waving my hand off. "We were just talking."

"Well, less talking and more packing. I already got four tickets to Puerto Rico over my phone. We are leaving tonight, so let's hurry," Sophie told us all, snapping her fingers and urging us to get to work.

"I'll get the dirty clothes," I volunteered.

"I will pack anything in the bathroom," Nuala poked in.

"Tch. I shall guard the door," Nuada grumbled, and he stormed out of the room. Sophie looked at me and shrugged. The both of us would never understand men. They were just as emotionally turbulent as women.

Five hours later we were ascending up the steps of a small plane, bags in tow with flight assistants preparing the long flight. Nuala and her brother did seem to have connections, because with only one phone call did the twins secure a private plane that would lead us straight to Puerto Rico. The flight attendants joining us were unusually tall people with sharply angled faces and porcelain skin.

"They are elves, just like Nuada and I," Nuala told me.

"Wow. They move so elegantly," I breathed. The majority of the flight attendants smirked at that as they continued their jobs on the petite plane. I blushed; elves seemed to have exceptionally good hearing too. Sophie dumped her luggage on the top holders, and I tried the same, except that I was too short to do so. As I struggled, an elf came over and took my bag. They calmly placed it on top of the luggage holder and closed it.

"If you need any other assistance, please do not hesitate to ask," the elf told me.

"Oh, okay," I said, going red in the cheeks. The elf regally nodded their head and left me. Not wanting to embarrass myself further, I sat down into my seat and buckled up. Sophie joined me a few minutes before take off, giggling like a little girl.

"What's up with you?" I asked. I took the small pillow another flight attendant offered me and placed it behind my head. I winced, my thick pink hair styled with heavy pins for the day biting into my skull. I pulled forward and started taking out the pins in my hair. Sophie giggled again as a male elf walked past her.

"Oh, gosh. Sophie," I began, about to tell her what a bad idea it was to flirt.

"Chill out, Bree. Don't tell me you are against humans and magical creatures being together," Sophie groaned, rolling her eyes. I sighed and shook my head, causing one pin to hang out. I pulled it out and counted ten pins in my hand.

"I am not against it, Sophie," I answered, "but I do not support it. I think maintaining a relationship with a person of another race entirely is extremely difficult and not meant for everyone. Elves and the rest of the magical people came out just last year. We humans hardly know anything about them, and they probably know little about us humans as well."

"We can get to know each other by dating," Sophie replied.

"No, Sophie. You know dating someone off the bat is not good for a relationship," I started.

"Yeah, yeah. Seriously, Bree, you are going way too far with religion. It's not murder if you don't become friends with someone and then date them."

"But the majority of the time we should," I insisted. "Sophie, I don't want you or that flight attendant to get hurt because the two of you did not get to know each other before outrageously flirting. Ow!" a little tear came up in my eye when I pulled out the last pin. Now my thick pink hair rested on my shoulders and I could more easily lie back into my seat and sleep on my pillow.

"Gosh, you can be so convincing sometimes," Sophie complained. "All right, I will get his phone number first, and then we will see how it goes. Okay?"

". . . Fine," I consented, although I was still not happy. Sophie could sometimes lose her well formed reasoning when it came to boys of any race or species. She once dated a satyr for three weeks. She broke up with him when he kept staring at other girls.

Nuada and Nuala joined us on the other side of the plane, sharing two seats together. Nuada had a stormy look over his face, and his twin sister was busy trying to calm him down before take off. Nuala placed a hand over his shoulder and murmured some words to him. Nuada grinned in response and murmured back a kind word to his twin.

I turned away from the scene. The twins had only been resurrected from their stony graves a few hours ago. They needed time to get used to everything. As the small plane began to hover over the ground, the tall male elf walked past our seats.

Cue the girlish giggle.

Now cue best friend sighing.

"Foolish humans," Nuada said aloud.

"Brother, please!" Nuala protested.

The plane soon took flight. As Sophie and Nuada got into a fiery fight against one another, Nuala and I stuck in between the dangerous debate, I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep. I knew Sophie; she always got the last word. Nuada seemed to be of the same character. This was going to be a long, long flight.

"Excuse me."

I woke up and yawned. I glanced up and saw a tall flight attendant looking down at me.

"Um, good morning," I yawned.

"We are here. Please take your luggage and exit the plane. We appreciate you for letting us attend to you," the elf told me. Then they curtly nodded their head and left. Wow, what a farewell.

The others were awake and getting their things. Nuada took his and Nuala's few things and left the plane quickly. His twin followed, rubbing the sleep off her eyes. Sophie left the plane behind them, saying she would wait for me outside. I opened the luggage holder and tried to reach for my bag. My fingers were just inches away from touching it – darn my lack of height.

A pale hand shot out from nowhere and pulled the bag out. The same elf Sophie had a crush on handed it to me. I slung the bag over my shoulders as the elf stepped back.

"Your friend frightens me," the elf said point blank.

"I know. I am so sorry," I replied back. "Sophie can be very . . . pushy."

"I saw that today. I very much appreciate you pulling her back with your words."

"Oh, no problem," I said, waving it off with my hand. "Goodbye."

"Farewell," the tall elf said, and with an elegant bow to the head, he bid me goodbye. I exited the plane and hurried after Sophie. She saw me and came close.

"I forgot to ask for his number!" Sophie exclaimed. "Did you get it for me?"

"Uh . . ." I sweat dropped as I fibbed and said, "No, I couldn't get it. He was too busy talking on the phone to his wife in the hospital."

Sophie's face dropped in shock and disappointment. Next her face went red. She began to mumble something when Nuada yelled for our attention.

"Are you two going to stay in this heat all day? Move it!" Nuada shouted.

"I have heard that there is air conditioning in the building," Nuala put in.

"Come on, Sophie," I said, pulling my friend along. Sophie walked beside me, head lowered in shame.

An hour or so later we parked in front of Isla de Encanta, one of Puerto Rico's top notch and richest places for both natives and foreigners. There were twenty gold and green colored buildings that all had three spacious apartments stacked on top of each other. They all contained three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a flat screen TV. Slithering between the twenty buildings was a pool constructed in the shape of a snake.

"This is it?" Nuada said. He looked at the buildings with disdain. Nuala fanned herself with a brochure, her cheeks flushed. We grabbed our things from the back of our rental car and hiked all the way to the third floor. Sophie brought out a key with a palm tree keychain and inserted it into the lock.

"Here we are," Sophie announced. She went right over to the fans positioned all over the apartment and turned them on full blast. Nuala breathed out in relief and positioned herself in front of a fan. Nuada, like a gentleman, took her bags and placed them in one of the three rooms.

"Sophie, would you like me to go out and buy food for the week?" I asked my friend. Sophie popped out of a room and walked out the narrow and small hallway.

"I'll do it. I know the best places," Sophie replied. She took the car keys from the table and skedaddled out of the apartment. I pulled my pink hair up into a high ponytail, hoping I could cool off from the intense Puerto Rican heat. While I splashed some water from the kitchen sink in my face, Nuada turned on the flat screen TV and searched for the news channel.

". . . another riot in America has flared up between humans and magical creatures. A troll was entering the bank and wished to open his bank account. However, an employee of the bank refused him multiple times, on the account that he was not human. This resulted in a fist fight between the troll and bank employee, until the police arrived and separated the two," a female news reported announced in Spanish. "This incident has now caused street fights between humans and trolls, and could possibly lead to civil war."

"This is awful," Nuala said as she saw the news.

"Do you see why I chose my actions so, sister?" Nuada asked.

"Why don't we put on the Disney channel?" I interrupted, hoping to stop a fight between the twins. I snatched the remote from Nuada and put on Disney.

"Oh, look, brother. Twins," Nuala laughed, pointing to the characters Zack and Cody. Nuada was not amused. He walked away and locked himself in his new room. Nuala looked hurt, but she covered it up with a sweet smile.

"I am sorry for that," Nuala said to me. "He lost the ability to be happy a long time ago." She sat down on the couch in front of the television and I joined her. The female twin did not say anything else. Instead, a lone tear ran down her left cheek.

"Nuala." I wiped the tear away and tilted her chin towards my direction. Her gold eyes were tearing up, and she was ready to break down. I smiled and pulled her close to me.

"There's always hope, Nuala. Maybe this is why your brother was able to come back to life," I told her. "Maybe he was given a chance to be happy again."

"Do you really think so? Would you really believe that if you ever found out what my brother did to your people?" Nuala said hoarsely. I blinked in confusion. The way Nuala said it, as if her brother's past actions dictated him into some monster.

"Yes, I will still believe it. Until the day we die, there is always the chance that we can decide to change for the better," I answered her. Nuala looked at me, and although she gave me a grin of approval, her eyes revealed that she did not believe me. She had lost hope in her brother and in herself.

She had given up on life.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, everyone! Hope you are all enjoying the story so far. This chapter is based solely on the royal twins. A little bit of background in order to have the twins fleshed out more. Anyway, all of Hellboy in both the comics and movie versions belong to their respective owners. The OCs are mine. Hope you will enjoy this chapter! :)

**Love is like Heaven, but it can hurt like Hell.**

-Anonymous/Unknown-

* * *

><p>The cock crowed loudly in the early morning. The mute air conditioner, accompanied by the very loud fan, breezed through my hair and made it fall in front of my face. The two humans, Sophie and Breeanna, whispered quietly to one another outside the room. One of them turned on the machine called the radio and began listening to fast paced music.<p>

"Should we make eggs for breakfast, Sophie?" Bree, the pink haired girl, asked her friend. I cracked open my eyes and stretched my legs. My feet touched someone else, and the person sleeping next to me groaned. Nuada's golden eyes cracked open in sleepy irritation, his hair now hanging in tangled locks over his face.

Smiling, I pushed the hair from my brother's eyes and mouthed a good morning. Nuada smiled back and pecked a kiss over my forehead.

"Did you sleep well, sister?" Nuada yawned. "Those annoying humans did not keep you up?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Nuada was still hateful towards humans; he only tolerated Bree and Sophie on my account. It felt wrong to threaten to leave Nuada, but it was the only thing that could hold him down. Still, I knew whenever the two humans had their backs turned, my twin was plotting something evil behind his bright eyes.

"Brother, you must be good."

"I refuse to submit myself to those two monsters," Nuada snapped, sitting up from the bed. We shared the same bed last night. Nuada refused to have me sleep anywhere but with him out of concern for my safety. While I kept myself around him to make sure he did not go berserk, Nuada made sure to keep me close to him and not anywhere near a sharp object.

"Why has fate handed us this miserable lot, sister? We could be having these humans underneath our feet, and yet here we are, being pampered by them. It makes my blood boil," Nuada whispered angrily at me. I placed my hand against his cheek, calming my brother down.

We both looked into one another's eyes. Nuada's eyes were cold and bright at the same time. He had a steely, hardened glint in his eyes, harboring all the hatred and loathing of the humans, especially towards Sophie and Bree. Sorrow also enveloped his steady stare. Centuries of plotting against the humans and their demise all destroyed in one fell swoop, and all because of one red skinned hero.

"Brother," I whispered to him, "please make peace with these humans. Sophie and Breeanna are different."

"They act just like the rest," Nuada retorted as he rose from the bed and pulled out a blue shirt from one of the plastic bags containing the clothes Bree bought for him. I sat up and brushed my hair back from my face. I got out of bed as well and approached my brother. After he put on the shirt, I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head against his shoulder.

"Why are you like this?" I said. "Where is my brother?"

". . . I am here," he answered.

I shook my head, saying, "All I have that remains of my sibling is a cold blooded killer. Where did the man who promised to keep me safe go? Where did the boy who always snuck me treats after lessons go?"

"I am here, Nuala. I am still me." Nuada's voice became desperate when he told me, "Can you not see, sister, why I have done what I did in my life? Those humans, though weak and small, have destroyed our people."

"No, only made them stronger," I protested. "We learned how to hide and blend in with the shadows. The humans are incapable of that. We have learned how to appreciate life and the gifts it bestows, unlike the humans, who are a much younger race and still have so much to learn."

"How can you say that? How can you say that the sufferings the humans have forced upon us have benefited our people?" Nuada demanded hoarsely.

"Suffering helps us to appreciate life, brother," I answered back, remembering and paraphrasing Bree's words.

"SHUT UP!" Bree screamed. "Fernando left Maria? Sophie, this is awful!"

"It's a soap opera, for crying out loud!" Sophie yelled back.

"No! Fernando and Maria have to get back together!" Bree wailed.

"Will you please lower your voice, Bree? You're going to wake up the twins."

"Tch." Nuada pulled himself away from me and opened the door to our bedroom in order to reach the bathroom where he would freshen up.

"Good morning, Nuada!" Bree called out cheerfully. Nuada answered her back with a loud slam of the bathroom door.

"Don't look so down, Bree. He'll warm up to us," Sophie said.

"I hope so. He and his sister have already gone through a lot," Bree sighed.

I listened to the two humans chat with one another for a few more moments before I decided to dress for the day ahead. I came out of the bedroom and suddenly felt a tug in my chest. I shut my eyes, wondering what my brother was trying to tell me. My eyes shifted to outside the apartment, at the top of the roof. Nuada was there, arms crossed and face stormy.

By the negative tug occurring in my heart, I knew my brother was going to stay up there for the entire day. Nothing and no one would make him budge from his spot. Our conversation only pushed my twin to think even more negatively about the humans. With a heavy heart brewing with anguished pain, I freshened myself up in the bathroom and exited it to greet the two humans.

Breeanna and Sophie were busy being entranced by a show on the flat screen TV. Something about a commoner abandoning a princess. The ironic comparison to my life made me frown. I missed Abraham so much.

Where was he? Was he still working for the BPRD? Did he still remember me? How much pain did I make him go through because of my death?

Did Abraham already forget me?

"Good morning, princess," Sophie greeted me teasingly. I grinned back and sat next to Bree, who was anxiously chewing down on her nails.

"What are you two watching?" I asked.

"This Spanish soap opera about this couple. The boy is a shepherd and the girl is the princess next in line for the throne," Sophie answered me. "Right now, Bree is freaking out over the fact that the shepherd Fernando is leaving Princess Maria."

"Those two are destined to be together!" Bree fiercely exclaimed, fire in her eyes.

"Bree, you know stuff like that doesn't happen," Sophie remarked, "and if it does happen in real life, it is probably only to gain public attention. No way can a commoner and royal blood mix together."

". . ." Bree sulked in defeat for a second before turning to her friend with a triumphant smirk. She pointed a finger at Sophie smugly.

"Jesus is royalty," Bree snapped back proudly. "He not only descended from the King David, but from God Himself, Who is King of the entire universe. Jesus mixed and mingled with tax collectors, fishermen, prostitutes, the poor, and more. So your theory must be wrong. Royal and common blood can mix together! Ha!"

"Oh, shut up," Sophie retorted. "That's because Jesus is involved in it all. He's God, so He loves and accepts everyone. I meant that human royals and human commoners cannot be together. It so does not count."

"Nuh uh, not true. Jesus was both God and man."

"Urgh, still does not count!"

"Does too!" Bree protested.

"The eggs have burst into flames," I pointed out, a small bonfire occurring in the kitchen. Sophie and Bree screamed simultaneously and rushed towards the kitchen. As the two poured cups of tap water into the black frying pan, I stared into the flat screen TV, watching as Princess Maria begged one last time for Fernando to return.

Fernando refused to even acknowledge her as he strode away from the tall castle gates. Princess Maria, anguished and in tears, fled from the gates and ran away into her grand castle, the double doors ominously closing after her. The words "To be Continued . . .?" came up in cursive Spanish. I lay back against the couch I was sitting on.

At least Princess Maria did not have a brother bent on ending mankind as we know it. My relief quickly disappeared when the princess's eldest brother was revealed in the epilogue, plotting to make Fernando pay through a poisoned vial. I groaned inwardly, wondering why my life was so similar to an over dramatized and unrealistic soap opera.

While Sophie and Bree continued to argue over whether or not royalty and commoners could be together, I took the remote in my hands and quickly changed the channel. I did not want to know what the ending would be like. It would be like knowing my own future.

Prince Nuada Silverlance, son of King Balor and heir to the Bethmoora throne, gazed out longingly into the fading sun set. The wound inflicted upon his dearest sister Nuala was now an ugly scar. He brushed his pale fingers over his chest, trembling over the memory of the smooth knife sliding deep into Nuala's body, and thus his as well. The echo of watching his twin slowly crawl into death's embrace, dragging him along against his will, caused the resurrected prince to almost vomit.

He let out a shaking breath. The act of his sister's self sacrifice, although now just a memory, still forced his body to freeze in fear. Nuada's mind raced away from the echo of death and tried to think of other things. He wondered how in the world things turned out to be so.

Nuada adored his twin sister Nuala. No, he was_ infatuated_ with her. Ever since he left for self exile after the war between the magical creatures and man, Nuada had no form of communication with any other living thing except for Mr. Wink and the occasional magical creature that passed their way over the long and lonely centuries. Even then, Nuada at times tired of Mr. Wink's company through out the years.

The bitter prince could not speak to his father, who disapproved of his self exile and was slowly losing his grip on reality. The rest of the magical population either looked down on the royal heir with disgrace, quietly supported his choice, or thought he was dead and gone and his "loony father" as people were calling the king nowadays was stubbornly refusing to accept the fact that his own child had expired. The humans were worse; they knew Nuada was different just through his presence, and they scorned him like the plague itself. Prince Nuada was alone for almost seven centuries, except . . .

On the second century of his self exile, Nuada felt a tug in his heart. He was resting in a cave with his loyal companion Mr. Wink when the strange experience occurred. The young prince was at that time in deep despair and had decided to return to his family. He was tired, beaten in, and depressed over how mankind continued to receive the upper hand in everything – food, water, shelter, weapons, land, and technological advances – while his own people languished underground, completely unnoticed by their worst enemies.

The young prince left the cave silently so not to wake his troll friend deeply snoring. The night sky was dappled with white and blue dotted stars, revealing the Big Dipper and other famous constellations. Nuada walked across a large and empty field until he found a flat piece of rock to climb and sit upon. The tugging in his heart pulled more insistently until it almost hurt.

"Am I falling ill?" the prince asked himself.

"_Brother?"_ a voice came out of nowhere. _"Brother? Are you there? Can you hear me?"_

"Nuala?" Nuada gasped. He instantly recognized his twin's voice, so soft and gentle like a breeze. He tilted his head up in order not to let tears through. Although he was a lonely boy, his stubborn side refused to show any touchy feely emotions. He was too proud for any of that.

"_Nuada, my brother! I finally got through to you,"_ Nuala said.

"How is this happening?" Nuada demanded. "Did you cast a spell on me, sister? It's so good to hear your voice! You have no idea how much I missed you so."

"_It is good to hear from you as well, dear brother," _Nuala whispered,_ "but this is no spell. Remember our link, brother? For the past century, I have worked hard to reconnect myself to you. Our bond was greatly weakened when you left for exile, but it was too strong to ever be broken apart."_

"You mean, you never forgot about me?" Nuada asked, a hitch in his throat. He murmured prayers of thanks to the stars for the gift given to him. The Big Dipper winked back in welcome.

"_Never, brother!"_ Nuala exclaimed. _"I never forgot you, nor has Father. Mankind and magical creatures may have wiped you from their memories, but we are family. We will never, ever forget you. We love you, brother."_

"By the gods, dearest sister, you have no idea how much of a balm those words are to me," Nuada told her.

"_I miss you, Nuada."_

"Aye," Nuada murmured, "I as well, Nuala."

"_Will you . . . Will you ever return, brother?"_ Nuala asked softly.

Prince Nuada paused before he answered. He had just decided to give up and turn back to his home. He already had all his things packed for the long trek back with Mr. Wink. Besides, the two needed urgent medical attention; Nuada had new wounds across his back from a fight with a grizzly, and Mr. Wink's right arm was infected from the snake bite the companions encountered while they were passing the Norse lands. Also, no magical creature was grateful for what the prince was doing for them, giving up years of his life in order to ensure all his people a safe and peaceful future from the vile and vicious humans.

Yet, Nuala needed him. She was a princess, so she would have no chance for the throne or in any other role. King Balor would most likely give her away to some far away kingdom or clan to ensure alliance and allies. Nuada's kind sister was simplified into being a pawn against the power struggles of the magical races straining to survive under the harsh rules of the underground world.

While Nuala was the brains and spirit of the two, Nuada was the strength and power. Nuala represented mercy; Nuada represented justice. Nuala was defenseless against the buffeting of kings and queens vying for top power, while Nuada had all the power to blow them all way with one swing of his spear. She was life incarnate, and Nuada was the quintessence of death in all its suffocating fury.

"No," Nuada answered finally to his sister. He suddenly felt in his heart a stabbing pain that made him flinch from the sudden out flow of sorrow and betrayal.

"Sister, I must continue this quest. If I do not grow strong and gain experience of the world itself, how will I ever be able to return to you as king?" Nuada told her earnestly. "Dearest Nuala, you are my spirit and soul and virtue. I cannot return to you until I have learned how to protect you from our enemies."

"_You can do that back home_," Nuala protested.

"No. I must stay in exile until it is time. When the time comes, you and I will bring our people back to their former glory, Father will be able to live the rest of his life in peace, and we can finally have no obstacles that shall separate the two of us ever again," Nuala replied gently. "Nuala, although we are not together in body, we are in spirit. As long as I remain in exile, this bond shall remain as strong and sturdy than any other rope, chain, or fortress. Do you understand, sister?"

"_. . . Yes, brother. I shall always be with you,"_ Nuala said. _"No matter how long it takes, I will remain by your side."_

"Ah, how can I, an ungrateful being, be blessed with such a person like you?" Nuada pondered. Nuala giggled, causing the prince in exile's heart to suddenly swell with a strange emotion. The prince pressed his hand to his heart, wondering what he was feeling.

"_Father has arrived, brother. I must go and keep him safe. Until the next time, Nuada,"_ Nuala whispered, and just like that, the bond linked to the twins' communication closed down. Later throughout the years, Nuada would master opening and closing the link with ease.

Again the prince brushed his right palm over his heart. He mused over the swelling feeling of strong emotion dwelling in him, asking himself why he suddenly could not stop thinking about his sister. Nuada lifted his head up to the stars, easily finding the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper pointed the way to the prince's next place of travel.

Nuala was like the constellation, guiding Nuada out of despair. Through her calming voice, Nuada felt like he could take over the entire world without fail. Throughout the years, growing in battle and in the experiences the Fates threw at him, Nuada would struggle over the name of the strong feeling that only grew stronger and stronger with each hope fulfilling conversation with his dear sister.

Later on, Nuada began to realize the source of the feeling resting twitchingly in the bowels of his cold heart. As Nuada learned the ways of technology and became Mr. Wink's mechanic for his mechanical right arm, he also learned the ways of falling deep into infatuation over someone. While watching young human mortals fall in love over each other, the prince of Bethmoora finally realized he was under the same enticing spell.

Prince Nuada was in love. He was deeply in love and compulsively obsessed over one person and that person only.

"_Nuada, Nuada~,"_ Princess Nuala greeted her brother in a sing song voice five centuries later. Nuala had grown considerably, both in mind and body. Nuada, if he was lucky, could see his other half in his dreams. Nuada concluded that her sister was so beautiful; round eyes of gold, a rounded oval face made of porcelain, and platinum blond hair hanging down and resting on her shoulders like a draped crown.

"Hello, sister," Nuada murmured as he and Mr. Wink made camp in a forest deep in an area called Canada. The weather was bitterly cold, and the humans were no better, the prince quickly concluded.

"_How are you, brother? I miss you so,"_ Nuala said, a smile most likely on her face.

Again, the insufferable feeling of longing carved itself out of Nuada's icy heart. Nuada closed his eyes, enjoying the strange yet wanted emotion that always rose whenever Nuala was brought into view.

"_Brother?"_ Nuala repeated.

Nuada tilted his head to the side with a wistful grin. This proved it. The prince was madly in love. He wondered about it over the years of exile, but already knew who the person of such affections was.

Nuada was in love with Princess Nuala. The proud prince of King Balor and Bethmoora was totally in love with his own twin sister.

How cruel the Fates are, do you not think?


	6. Chapter 6

"The humans . . . the humans have forgotten the gods, destroyed the earth, and for what? . . . Greed has burned a hole in their hearts that will never be filled! They will never have enough!

"Let him starve! See how he feels after he dies from starvation while we feast on chicken!" Sophie screamed the last part and ended her tirade in a shriek. She coughed afterwards and stomped downstairs, grumbling dark words to herself. Nuala and I winced simultaneously when my friend slammed the door to her room shut. I had a feeling that Nuada was secretly enjoying his victory over us humans.

"Maybe I should go to brother," Nuala said. Reluctance was set in her face. It seemed that she did not wish to come close to her brother. For the past day, Nuala had been pressing a hand to her heart and silently moaning in pain. I told her if she was having heartburn that I could find a pharmacy and buy her some medicine.

Instead she shook her head and replied, "No medicine can cure heartbreak."

"Let me try, Nuala. If Nuada does not talk to me either, I will simply leave his food out," I told my new friend.

"But my brother does not enjoy the company-"

"Of humans," I finished for her. I shook my head, the pink dreads tied in two thick ponytails sashaying side to side. Nuala did not speak, only pursed her lips in consent.

"It's all right. Let me give Nuada his dinner. Okay, sweetheart?"

"I would very much appreciate it," Nuala replied with a tight grin.

I took Nuada's dinner from the microwave, walked past Nuala and the dinner table, and began my ascension of the spiraled staircase that connected the first floor of the apartment to the second. Each black staircase made my heart hammer louder and faster. I did not want to admit it, but Nuala's brother was scary. Not intimidating – scary.

"Hello?" I poked my head out of the clear window door. The roof was flat and a light brown color. Discarded plastic white tables with chairs were hanging off at the right corner. Waving proudly in the great heat was the Puerto Rican flag, the lone white star over the blue triangle in view.

The roof had a square like structure installed at the top to accommodate the staircase and second floor bathroom inside. There, Nuada was sitting, cross legged and head tilted forward defiantly. I looked down at his dinner – rice, chicken, and a small serving of vegetables – and felt like throwing up mine.

The man was extremely scary! How could his own sister stand being around him? Being close to Nuada made shivers race up and down my spine. Jeez.

"Uh, Nuada? Here's your dinner," I said, offering him the plate full of food. Nuada remained still, his jaw tightly clenched and his golden eyes boring down on the screaming children splashing in the pool and the parents lazily sunbathing without a care in the world.

"Nuada, please eat. It's not healthy to skip out on your meals," I insisted.

Nuada had ignoring people down to an art. His eyes hovered across the humans below, chattering and gossiping as if there was no civil war between the magical people and humans. Down below, everyone was happy and blissful. They did not know that our world was rapidly falling apart from our lack of morals, now splitting into pieces faster because of the enmity between the magical and man.

It was sad. I knew that the majority of us wished for faeries and trolls and kings and queens existed when we were kids. Our wish was finally granted when the magical people were outed. Now we were practically hissing every time an elf or a troll bumped us on accident. What was going on with us humans?

The pale skinned man continued to ignore me. I frowned and carefully placed his food down on the floor, since there was no ladder for me to climb up so I could give him his dinner personally. I began to leave, until an idea struck my head.

I zipped downstairs, grabbed a notebook and pencil, and raced back out to the roof. Using my knees as a desk, I wrote a message for Nuada, folded it in half, and then placed it underneath the dinner plate. A smile replacing my frown, I bounced back downstairs, fingers crossed that my plan would work.

Sometimes I become inspired. Usually it is in things relating to religion, in order to explain my faith to people more easily or to defend it from those who wished to disarm me of it. Yet time to time, I would be inspired in doing an ordinary thing for a person. I had no idea where these inspirations came from – they simply came when they wanted to.

I met Nuala back at the dinner table. Sophie was still fuming in her room. Nuala looked at me expectantly.

"He did not accept it. I left it out there though," I told her.

"He will not eat it until it rots. Then he will blame you that you tried to poison him," Nuala remarked. I snickered at that. It seemed a typical thing for Nuada to do.

BPRD Headquarters

"LIZ! Nuala is crying again!"

"Did you giver her the milk formula?" Liz yelled back to Hellboy.

"Uh . . . What's the milk formula?" Hellboy muttered to himself as his baby daughter Nuala Jr. screeched for attention. Nuada Jr. simply lay on the large bed, above crying. He was the son of Prince Anung un Rama, for crying out loud. He would not cry even if he starved from lack of food.

"Shh, Nuala. You're gonna wake everyone up," Hellboy said to his little girl. Nuala Jr., a small red skinned human looking being with a tuft of ebony black hair, only continued her screaming rampage. Nuada Jr. saw how much attention his twin sister was receiving from their father, so he thought, the heck not?

By the time Abraham and Liz came in, Hellboy was on the verge of a nervous breakdown from his two screaming children.

"Aw, come here, Nuada. What's the matter? Is Daddy being a mean old grouch?" Liz said as she picked up her son and coddled him. Nuada, having achieved his mission, ceased crying and snuggled into his mother's arms. The thin whiplike tail that was protruding out of his white diapers swished back and forth in pleasure.

"Abe, buddy," Hellboy pleaded, "you gotta help me. Please. I don't know what the milk formula looks like."

Instead of academically scolding Hellboy for his lack of vigilance, Abraham nodded and pulled out a carton of milk formula that Liz left in the fridge for the twins. He poured the formula out into two small plastic bottles, placed them inside the microwave, and waited until they were ready. Abraham then handed the two bottles of milk to Liz and Hellboy.

"Uh, how do you feed them again?" Hellboy asked with deep embarrassment.

"Honestly, Red. You've seen Abe and me feed the kids hundreds of times," Liz pointed out.

"Abe?" Hellboy offered the bottle of milk to his blue skinned friend. For a moment, Abraham grinned and took the bottle. He then picked up screaming Nuala from the bed and into his arms, then popped the bottle of milk into her open mouth. Nuala automatically stopped her tantrum and busied herself with drinking her milk.

Nuada Jr. tugged on his mother's hair while simultaneously drinking the milk. His bright gold eyes narrowed as the milk helped lull him to sleep. Liz pecked her son on the forehead and carefully placed him in his crib decorated with runes and charms that protected him from any diabolical forces. Moments later Abe tucked Nuala Jr. into her crib, who gave a sleepy smile to her god parent before closing her eyes.

"Look, her tail twitches when she's asleep," Hellboy whispered. "Let me grab the camera. I'll be right back, Liz."

As Hellboy stomped off to find the camera, Liz and Abraham sighed and collapsed in chairs. Liz had given birth to the twins only a few months ago. With the children's rapid growth and ever increasing voices, she was glad Abe was around to help. Hellboy had no idea to take care of little babies, unlike Abe, who took on the role of nanny and had been practically raising Nuala and Nuada together with Liz.

"Could they get any louder?" Liz groaned to herself.

"With the way Hellboy is, just be glad not as destructive," Abraham said with an added sigh.

They spent a few minutes in silence. Whenever they did, it was because they were thinking about what happened then. Back when one fanatical elf tried to overtake the world and rid it of humans. Back when a certain BPRD member fell head over heels in love with a certain princess. Back when said fanatic Nuada died only by the self inflicted sacrifice of his twin sister Nuala.

Liz never liked Prince Nuada. She saw him to be a cruel, merciless killer who wanted only to fulfill the hole in his heart instead of man's. She remembered the monster stabbing his spear into Hellboy's heart, saying with a smug smile, "You may have mused in the past, am I mortal? . . . Now you are."

Liz was quite happy to see the stand offish prince on the floor defeated, Hellboy standing over him with the crown in his hand. That was one evil gone from this world, Liz thought after Hellboy won. She and Abraham had shared a look of relief – for Liz, that Hellboy and she could raise their family without Nuada hurting them, and for Abe, that he could finally pursue a relationship with Nuala with no interference from her brother.

Yet the next thing Nuada had said to Hellboy threw the pyrokinetic off.

"Kill me. You must. For I will not stop. I cannot."

Nuada sounded so desperate and for a moment, human. Liz could see how distraught and humiliated the prince felt. He spent thousands of years planning to overthrow the humans and raise his people back to the glory they once had. With just one red skinned man, all that came crashing down.

What happened next took Liz's breath away.

Nuada had approached Hellboy, a dagger in his hand. At the moment he was to strike, Nuada staggered back and dropped his weapon. All could see the light trickle of his blood coming out of his vest and seeping downwards. Abraham and Liz turned their heads to see Princess Nuala quietly pulling out a dagger of her own.

Nuala was the first of the twins to fall. Abraham shoved Liz and Krauss aside in order to reach Nuala. Hellboy let himself walk back a few shaky steps in order to let Nuada pass by and look at his twin one final time.

"Nuala, my sister," the prince choked out, before crumbling into pieces. Moments later Nuala met a similar fate, Abraham holding her hand to the end.

When the BPRD came, they wanted to take Nuala and Nuada's remains with them. Abraham, Hellboy, Krauss, and Liz herself all vehemently protested. Krauss said it blasphemous and sacrereligious to tamper with the remains of magical royalty, Liz added that they accomplished their mission to stop the Golden Army and did not need to push it, and Hellboy butted in saying, "We lost two great people in there today. A warrior who stood up for his beliefs and an ally who risked everything for her friends. Leave them in their resting place. You even think about messing with their remains, and I will break your jaw."

The BPRD through Mr. Manning argued otherwise that the twins' remains were just rock, only pieces of the earth that they as an organization had to retrieve and keep under tight security. Manning and Liz's friends argued back and forth until Abe finally spoke.

"You will not find anything worthwhile in there," Abe cut in. "The prince and princess are long gone. Why must you collect their remains when it is obvious that they won't come back?"

The BPRD gave up after that.

"How are you holding up, Abe?" Liz asked her friend. Abraham did not answer at first. He wrung his hands before he choked out a reply.

"I miss her, Liz," Blue confessed. "When I am all alone, sometimes I hallucinate seeing Nuala running off into a corner, seeing only the ends of her blue dress. Other times, when I hold little Nuala and look into her eyes, I see _her_."

"We all miss her," Liz said.

"Not like I do. You have a family of your own, Liz. What about me? I am all alone, never again to see Nuala again. I will never have children to raise with her, nor a chance to see her remains anymore because the BPRD made the Golden Army chambers off limits," Abe told her. He blinked once before adding, "I can't even read a book on poetry without thinking of her."

"Abe-" Liz started to speak, only to be cut off by Abe standing up abruptly from his seat and waving his hands for her to stop.

"I must go. Manning asked me to do some research on the chupacabra Hellboy and I caught last week. Excuse me."

Abraham left the room, leaving Liz all by herself. Her bones creaked and groaned as she stood up from her chair and approached her babies. She looked down on them, grinning when she caught both Nuada and Nuala's tails twitch simultaneously.

Hellboy had suggested naming the twins after the royals as soon as Liz gave birth. Liz immediately turned it down; she did not want her girl to remind Abe of the princess, nor did she want her boy to be named after a tyrannical monster that had almost killed the twins' father.

Hellboy pleaded and insisted so convincingly though. He explained that they be named after Nuada and Nuala to honor the good they had in them, to maybe pass on the prince's strong will into the boy and the princess' love of all into the girl. In the end, Liz consented. How could she say no? As soon as Abe heard, he thanked the two so much for days and days.

Hellboy and Liz stayed in the BPRD in the end as well. Both were broke and could not afford the money needed to care for Nuada and Nuala. Abe took up his job again as well, in order to fulfill his role as godparent and nanny. So long as the three fulfilled their missions, the BPRD would supply them with everything they needed to raise the kids.

"Psst! Liz, I got the camera," Hellboy whispered a little too loudly. He softly closed the door and grinned like a little boy. In his hands was one of Manning's expensive cameras.

"Red," Liz began.

"Borrowing without asking permission, Liz. There's a difference," Hellboy cut in. "Now let me take some pictures of them. Oh, look! Their tails twitched again. They are cuter than the cats, Liz."

"Nuada and Nuala are not pets," Liz told Hellboy.

"Yeah, yeah. Man, you have got to see these pictures. I'm gonna buy myself an album and put all these pictures in it, then show them to everyone. Hah, their tails twitched again!"

Liz chuckled and sat back down on her chair. Hellboy did not seem to notice that Abe was not in the room anymore. He was too busy fawning over his two children, as every father should.

Liz only hoped the Abraham would pull through. She understood that he loved Nuala dearly, but he had only known her for a few days. How could you know you were in love with someone in three days? Liz and Hellboy knew they were in love after she died and he almost let the Apocalypse come.

Although Abe was much older than her, Liz believed that she knew best. Her blue friend needed to move on, to go back to being his old self before Nuala, before the Golden Army. He needed to find something or someone else to occupy his mind and time.

"Hey, Red," Liz said, "how many female agents do we have?"

"Uh, around twenty or thirty. There's a lot more men than women here. Why do you ask? Aw, look at you! You two are so cute!" Hellboy giggled, his humongous red tail swaying back and forth in delight as the pictures he took became more and more cuter.

"No reason," Liz replied off the handle, a plan already working in the gears of her head.

"Liz, Nuala and Nuada seem to act like Nuala and Nuada," Hellboy commented.

"What?"

"Sorry, that was confusing. I meant to say that our kids act like Nuada and Nuala. Nuala is very loving and sweet – well, when she's had her bottle – and Nuada is very solemn and reserved. Do you think that's something to worry about?"

"Of course not. Babies develop their personalities; ours have just done so earlier than usual."

"All right, babe," Hellboy said.

"Hon, I'm gonna go and do an errand. I will see you soon," Liz told Red. She pecked him on the cheek before leaving him to his coddling business.

Fate seemed to on Liz's side when she saw two female agents standing close by and having coffee. She approached the two.

"Excuse me. I was wondering if I have worked with you two on my last mission. You know, zombies gone mad back in Florida. Ring any bells?" Liz spoke in a friendly manner. The two female agents looked at one another uncertainly before slowly shaking their heads.

"Oh, I am so sorry. My head got cracked open, so my memory has not been the same since. Anyway, my name is Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz."

"Uh, hello. My name is Laura. Nice to meet you," the one to my left said.

"Maggie Rice. I hope to work with you in the future. We girls have to stick together in this place," the one to my right told me.

At that moment I saw Abe shuffle past without a word. He was busy reading a book on physics, deftly avoiding the walls or people. The agent named Maggie Rice caught Abraham and smiled to herself. Jackpot.

"Oh, yes. We girls certainly must," Liz laughed.


End file.
